Fu Naru's Palace of Illusion
by Fable's Temptress
Summary: Sae was determined not to fall in love, which of course meant she was doomed to it. So when she accepted an invitation from the Queen to be a part of a series of tests that would decide who would marry the Prince, she didn’t know what she was getting into
1. Prologue

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**Fu Naru's Palace of Illusion**

Prologue

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Introduction

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Our tale begins simply with a lovely young lady sitting contently, surrounded by a sunny garden while her younger sister picks yellow flowers from the blossoming bushes, and in no way was she prepared for the events about to befall her.

Said lady was known, and for the time being shall be known to us as Sae, the daughter of one of the many counts of Fu Naru. Her younger sister, or half-sister rather if we are to be technical, was an adorable nine-year-old with hair that gleamed like gold in that afternoon shine, and she was called Mealina. Sae and Mealina loved each other very much; though to look at them one would not think them related.

Unfortunately for Sae, she hardly appeared to be related to anyone in her family. Lady Kiva, Sae's stepmother, and Lady Kiva's children, the rowdy twelve-year-old twins Josef and Evart, and their younger sister Mealina, all donned identical blonde locks, and the majority of them sported rather fetching chocolaty brown eyes, though Joseph inherited grey from his father the count. This was the one trait which likewise told Sae that she really was a part of this family. Her hair was raven-coloured, just like her mother's had been, and her father proudly bared his red mane. So the only thing that told her she was her father's daughter, similarly to Josef, was their matching rain-cloud eyes.

It didn't matter so much though, Sae thought to herself as she gripped the stone bench she rested on, while her sister frolicked about the grass. As a child growing up she had been so upset, so worried because she did not seem to match the rest of her family. The only one whom she was told looked anything like her she had killed. Or so Sae believed anyway. Her mother had died giving birth to her, and that for Sae was reason enough to prove her the culprit. Sometimes she wished oddly enough that she could go back into the past and apologize to her mother, though she wasn't sure it would do any good. Nevertheless, these things didn't matter so much now, for it seemed she would not be a part of this family for much longer as it was.

"Sister?" Sae blinked back into consciousness to find Mealina had stopped entertaining herself with the plants and was now standing before her.

"You seem pensive. I hope it's not about what father was speaking of earlier. You are going to refuse the invitation, aren't you?"

Sae smiled at her, plucking a sunflower out of the bouquet Mealina held tightly in her hands. "Refuse? Of course not, I've already accepted. Father had already begun penning a response when I left him in his study."

Mealina dropped her wild yellow flowers and her hands flew up to rub out some tedious salty drops forming in her warm brown eyes. "That's…that's horrible Sae!"

Sae, with her trademark response that really solved nothing, shrugged. "I actually agree with father. This is for my benefit. It's really what any woman could hope for."

Mealina however wouldn't have that. She sniffled and bent down to recollect her poor scattered bloomers. "No it's not. I could never hope for that…how could you Sae? Don't you want to find your true love?"

Sae, obviously less distressed over her own situation then her sister was for her, bit her lip to stop from smiling. Her sister, she thought, really was adorable when it came to these things, but she mustn't laugh or Mealina would really be hurt. "I know darling how you love the tales you've been fed since infancy, of dashing knights and charming princes, but you must remember they are simply tales."

"That doesn't mean true love doesn't exist!" Mealina said, the ever determined romantic, and Sae could see by her sister's expression that her mind was slipping off into some little fantasy of her own, probably a love story she wished to live out someday.

"What's this about true love now?" Both girls turned to see Lady Kiva entering the garden gate and walking towards them in her graceful stroll.

"Mama, Sae doesn't care for love! She has accepted the invitation from the Queen!"

Instead of gasping as one might expect from a loyal subject when the Queen is mentioned, Lady Kiva smiled at her daughter's sweet earnestness as she took a seat next to Sae on the bench, taking a moment to think the issue over. "Well, Sae is being very sensible, very like her father I should say, in accepting the Queen's invitation. Not everyone dearest Mealina is lucky enough to marry for love. However, it would be foolish to agree to a marriage, it being advantageous to you or not, without at first making some effort in finding out if you are in the least compatible with the man. Suppose Sae, that the two of you are ill matched and find yourselves in constant fights, ever longing to leave each other?"

Sae didn't need a moment to think about this thankfully. Twirling the sunflower she still had between her fingers, she replied, "There are people who have wed for love and have ended up in the same predicament. It seems to me that sometimes it is a matter of chance. In some respects I do agree with you though; I suppose it is possible to be entirely incompatible with someone to the point where it's impossible to function harmoniously together. But you, Mealina, speak of something else, of true love. I only hope that the man I marry will be someone tolerable whom I can get along with, other then that I do not expect. To put it bluntly, true love is not for me, and I have no use for it anyway."

Mealina gasped clearly horrified at the thought, as well as we could all very much expect from her, and she frowned in despair at hearing such words from her beloved sister, but Lady Kiva only smiled.

"A warning, Sae," she advised. "Those are cursed words you have just uttered, and it is quite known that once a determined young lady says them she has doomed herself to falling in love."

But of course whether said falling in love ends in happily ever after, or in a despairingly unrequited tragedy, is yet to be affirmed by either sides. With that in mind, let us proceed with the story;

"Known where mother? Among storytellers? Is that not a warning a heroine would hear in a fated love tale? I'm afraid I live among the real."

The lady only smiled on. "You'll be careful, daughter not of my own blood but certainly of my heart, for you may find yourself in your own tale soon enough with that attitude. Just promise poor Mealina and me that once behind those palace walls, you will not agree to any sort of marriage until you have thoroughly gotten to know the suitor and his family."

Sae nodded like the dutiful daughter that she was. "Yes…I admit I am worried about this though. I do have some fears…I, I just don't want to disappoint father. I know he's looking out for what's best for me."

"I have no doubt he is Sae," Lady Kiva said kindly, "but you must be the possessor of your own will, or else is was pointless of your maker to give it to you. You've always been a passive child, and I know it's because you feel responsible for things that were not your fault dearest, but you must stand up for yourself because no one else will when you are staying amongst the royals."

"Stand up for yourself, get to know the prince before you agree to marry him, and don't forget about us." Mealina added, taking her sister's hand in hers.

Sae laughed, and quite a sweet simple laugh did she have. "You all sound so sure it's a done deal. You forget, I am the…seventh lady I think, to be staying at the palace since the Queen started inviting potential consorts over."

Lady Kiva nodded, for her husband had informed her of the details as well. "Yes, Arland told me all about it. There were four princesses from the surrounding countries who had come, they had all apparently failed whatever test the Queen set out for them. Then there was the archduke's daughter, the Viscount's young niece, and now you are the seventh I think. It is lucky that the other counts, and most of this kingdom's nobility I gather, do not have eligible daughters, though if you fail whatever it is the Queen has in store for you I suppose they'll move on to the various Barons and their female offspring next."

"I wonder what sort of test she has in store though. I heard all four princesses left the country in a huff within the same day they failed, and the two ladies from our country I'm not particular friends with, so I didn't feel I had the right to ask them last week at Duke Eizer's ball. They did both look rather sour about it though, and almost as if they rather not divulge in any particulars"

'Or maybe they are not permitted to say." Mealina said in a whisper.

Both Lady Kiva and Sae laughed, mistakenly thinking that the idea from such a young girl inexperienced with the ways of the world must be wrong. Mealina it can be said, like most children, was smarter and quicker then her silly elder family members would account her for.

"I doubt what ever Queen Ryona has in store for me will be so scandalous that it must be kept secret. Mealina, you've got to stop letting your imagination run wild like that."

Our heroine Sae had no idea how close the various thoughts Mealina's wild imagination conjured up were to the actual reality Sae was going to be facing the next few months at the palace. And so, this is where the story really begins.

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_A__uthor's Notation_: Thank you and welcome to world that exists in my imagination.

This story is actually based on a manga (I can't tell you which because that would ruin the surprise plot, but it's not any popular mainstream ones). However, I'm posting this in Fairy Tales because I've converted the idea that runs through the manga into an actual fairytale.

As of right now I have most of this story written (two-thirds of it), so updates will be around once a week, or so. I've worked this out to be around sixteen chapters though it may be more; this is also the shortest chapter because it is an introduction. Actual chapters will be around 6,000 words each, give and take, so I hope you're all avid readers.

The funny thing about this story is as I began to write it, I began to live it...in other words, it was paralleled in my reality; I began meeting the characters in my daily life, which has never happened to me before for any story I've ever written (you know, usually you base your characters on people you already know, not vice versa). Freaky. So, more on that later, as for now, hope you enjoyed it (I know the narrative is weird but it changes into a neutral tone after this), and have a nice day.

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Fable's Temptress


	2. Part One Chapter One

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**Fu Naru's Palace of Illusion**

Part One

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Chapter One

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Fu Naru's palace was known as, imaginatively enough, the Palace of Fu Naru, but the inhabitants of said fortress certainly had their share of imagination. Situated to the North East in a secluded area apart from the surrounding villages, not many people knew of the happenings inside those walls. Though the country prospered under good and just leadership; their taxes were light and when crop failure occurred the royals were always there to aid them, so they didn't trouble themselves too much to question their rulers' secretive, isolated ways.

Once in a while the princes would come out to help at the harvest moon and the farmers were grateful for any volunteered labour. The knights patrolled the countryside on a regular basis, always around in every region of the country in case problems arose, which was rare Overall Fu Naru lived in peaceful, blossoming times, though the nobility seemed quite in a stir that they never saw those handsome (and more importantly, rich) eligible sons of the King and Queen at the regular noble gatherings.

The reason was of course that the Queen was hiding them away for some purpose, some reason none of the general Fu Naru nobility knew of, save the two jilted girls who had at one point been potential consorts, but the rest of the people of noble blood had ideas of their own, the most popular of them being that perhaps the rich princes were hideous and therefore had to be kept locked up until they were married. Sad but true, most nobility it seemed didn't converse with the farmers, for if they did they could be informed that both princes were not only quite fine looking young men, but strong and capable of putting in a good day's work of labour around the harvest moon time. Nonetheless the rumours did continue, though no one did suspect the real reason, far more strange and outlandish then anything they had thought up, except perhaps that ridiculous notion that the princes were really princesses, but as the King needed sons as heirs so, they has been raised as boys. Now _that_ could be considered even more bizarre than the actual truth.

For whatever fantastical reason the Queen had for keeping her boys out of the public eye, so was the result that Sae, daughter of Count Arland of the West region, whose real name has yet to be disclosed as it is terribly long and she prefers to be known by three simple letters, began her journey to the Palace of Fu Naru, knowing nothing of either prince. All she did know what that she was now the new candidate to marry the older, crown Prince whom her father guesstimated to be in his early twenties. And yes, guesstimated is a real word.

Upon arrival at said palace, Sae was amazed firstly by the fact that it was hidden in such a secretive place in the country. The carriage she journeyed in had to cross miles of forestry and park, which apparently was all palace property, before she came upon the actual structure. And what a structure it was. Ivory towers and all. The rooftops were made of a pale blue stone and the windows were all stain glass and elegant. This was never a castle that had known warfare; it was a palace built for architectural beauty and baroque fashion. Inside the palace the floors were marble and Sae was caught by the shadow of herself mirrored beneath her feet on the smooth surface. The servants who came to meet her were all dressed in exquisite shell colours, with pearl coats and white breeches, and they managed to carry her luggage gracefully and effortlessly, though Sae knew her stepmother had aided her in packing a fair amount.

She was led up an expansive crimson-carpeted stairway, then to a long corridor to her right on the second floor, and shown to vacant quarters, which were to be hers for the proceeding time period, or to put it more bluntly, for as long as she lasted. .

"The head servant will be here with you shortly, milady." The servants bowed and left her to her rooms after all the luggage was brought in.

Sae took the opportunity to get to know her new surroundings. The first room in her quarters was set up much like a personal drawing room, with divans and couches to lounge on, richly coloured carpets to soften the wooden floors for her feet, a bookshelf against one wall that kissed the ceiling, filled with what looked like varying subjects, and various portraits hung on the opposing walls for inspection. There was even a card table placed off to one side of the room, and a pianoforte on the opposite end lest she find herself in the mood for entertainment. The door on the left side led to a spacious room painted jade green, with dark cherry-wood furniture, such as an intricately carved wardrobe and an impressively high and wide bed with teal coloured sheets.

The stain glass window that the light poured through was designed to portray the folktale of one of Fu Naru's tragic myths. Through the metal and coloured glass the image displayed was that of a young woman with wings spurting out her back. She was turned away from a man, who was kneeling before her and seemed to be begging. The window was a picture from the fable of the angel who fell in love with a man who was deceiving her, and he too fell in love with the angel, though once she found out his trickery she left him forever.

Leaving that room and walking back into her drawing room, she explored the other two doors. One led to a private study, which was filled with more books and a writing desk equipped with writing utensils and paper for her use. The final door led to her personal toiletry room, and she was pleased to see that they had fashioned their bath sparing no costs.

When she next walked back into her main room she found a tall man with a nervous appearance but steady hazel eyes placed on her. For a moment she supposed this could be one of the princes, for Fu Naru royalty was known for having famous hazel eyes, not all of them of course, but she had heard at least one of the princes like his father has inherited that trait. However, taking in the man's royal servant garments, she concluded that she must be mistaken, and that this man must be the head servant she was told would meet with her soon. Still, he did seem oddly young to be a head servant.

"Lady Sae, I am please to welcome you to the palace, I am the head servant here, Gallagher." He paused watching her expression carefully. "Yes, well I can see you are a bit sceptical of someone my age being promoted to head servant, but—" he added in with that nervy lilt in his voice, "but, I assure you, most confidently, that when my father, the previous head servant, broke his back a fortnight ago, no one questioned my taking over until he recovers…which may very well never happen, so it is best we come to a mutual understanding now."

"I—" Sae was a little taken aback by his unprovoked—at least she didn't feel that she had provoked it in any way—speech. "I…well yes, I suppose we had better come to an understanding if you are to be the head servant while I am here. You aren't, by any chance, related to the royal family, are you?"

Gallagher clammed up at once and demanded, "No of course not, why would you think such a thing!"

"N-no reason, I'm sorry for asking if it offends you so. I suppose it is because you have hazel eyes, but then I suppose not everyone with hazel eyes in the world has to be related to the Fu Naru family."

"Of course they don't!" He snapped. "And it's best you understand that now before you go and start saying such preposterous things to anyone else in this palace! Now…now, where was I? Oh yes, Lady Sae, three ladies-in-waiting will be assigned to you during your stay, and I will go and summon them to come to you shortly. I just want to clear some more rules up with you first. While you are here, the Queen will be setting out a series of tests for you, if you pass them all, you will marry her eldest son, the crowned Prince Sevastian. Fail any of them and you are immediately sent home. Do not take her tasks lightly; they are in every bit of the word a challenge. You are also to have dinner with her highness this early evening, or in an hour I should say, and you have be introduced to the rest of the royal family afterwards. Now, is there anything you would like to ask?"

"Am I to call you Gallagher then?" Sae asked.

"If that is what you wish. Now, I have to go, I have many things to prepare and if that is all you have to ask I shall leave at once."

"Yes, thank you Gallagher."

"Milady," He bowed and left, taking his nervous aura with him.

Sae could tell at once that he must have been hiding something, by his jumpy state, the same way her brothers acted when they broke one of her stepmother's hallway urns and didn't want to get caught. She wondered how long it would be before she could figure it out.

A few minutes later, as Sae was going through one of her cases and looking for a suitable dress to meet the Queen with, when her three ladies-in-waiting, along with a fourth maid, made their appearance.

The three ladies who bowed together to her and claimed they were her three ladies-in-waiting seemed all relatively young, the youngest being a sweet fifteen-year-old blonde girl named Phélie. The other two were the crow-haired Beda, and the red-haired Alesia. They were all dressed modestly and they all looked like genuinely agreeable young woman. The one who stood out to Sae was the remaining lady in the room, who confessed to being the Queen's former lady-in-waiting, for many years now it seemed. She was slightly plump, with salt and pepper hair that clearly used to be black, and the only thing about her that didn't seem warm was her shrewd, sharp blue gaze. She also held her head higher then the other younger girls present, which told Sae she was either very proud to be a maid to the Queen, or that she had spent too much time around the Monarch. It would only be a few weeks later when Sae would mention that all the servants seemed in some small way to show their pride for serving the royal family, and Mayah, for that was the elder lady's name, would smile delightfully to this and admit that she held her own head high to show she was proud to serve such regal masters.

Back to the present time of the story however, after just the first few minutes of being introduced to and talking with Mayah, Sae felt that she liked her best of all. Perhaps a little too predictably for an elderly palace maid, Mayah seemed to have a natural maternal aura emanate from her.

As the three young ladies-in-waiting set to unloading Sae's trunks and putting everything away into her wardrobes, Mayah took Sae aside and continued to talk to her, and Sae got the impression that the kind old lady was trying to read her character. However, Mayah did do a fair bit of talking of her own.

"Having been the Queen's lady-in-waiting since we were both teenagers, we are actually quite close, perhaps more as friends then as servant-master my dear, and I believe this is why the Queen has taken on younger ladies to tend to her and I have been given the easy task of helping out all the contending ladies, and supervising the maids serving you. It really is a vacation for me, these last months. I do admit however, it is sad to see young mistress after mistress go, none of them ever staying long much. I hope you aren't discouraged by this though Lady Sae."

Finding Mayah extremely easy to talk with, Sae found herself opening up. "I'm not discouraged no. It's funny for me to say this, because I am no believer of fate, I am more of the mind that one must acquire for themselves the life they want by the choices they make, and yet I feel like if it is meant for me then I will pass the tests, and if not then I shall go back home having known I tried."

"That is an interesting answer," Mayah said after a moment's pause, "but Sae, may I just call you Sae milady? Yes, well, Sae my dear, I believe that you must have a good reason to be here, in able to get through these tests the Queen has set out. Do you have a good reason? Past princesses have come for money, for power, they have come because their families have sent them. What is your reason?"

"I do not desire power or money, but I have come because my father has asked me to and I know he only chooses what is best for me. I know nothing of the prince so I cannot say anything of attachment or silly infatuation, but I have promised my stepmother that should I find I am completely incompatible with his highness, I should go straight home. I do not pretend not to know that marrying his highness would secure for me a life safe from poverty, as any girl looking to be married looks for, and I do not look for love because I do not think I was made for true love. I am only looking for a man whom I can start a new life with, whom I can get on with tolerably and will have enough wealth that any children we have won't go hungry. Is that not a good enough reason?"

"It is an honest reason, though a little depressing my dear. What of happiness? You did talk of not marrying a man you are completely incompatible with, but what if you marry a man you get along with well enough, but there is no passion, to the point that you find yourself unhappy in the marriage?"

Sae gave a small smile. "I have already told you, I do not concern myself with love and lust and passion. I scarcely think I was designed for it. I only look for a safe, orderly home, which is all anyone can hope for."

Mayah looked away with a small smile of her own. "You have yet to be awakened then, Sae. Well, let us look for something nice and proper for you to wear tonight to dine with the Queen, shall we?"

Within the hour Sae found herself being summoned down for dinner. Mayah had very wisely picked for Sae a satiny jade evening gown that was both flattering and modest.

"You want to appear graceful and beautiful before the male royalty, but you also must remember the Queen is looking for a humble gentlewoman, not a vain lady. Though, judging by the attire you have brought with you, I doubt she'll have to worry about that. Your clothes all do seem quiet reserved, quiet innocently pretty really."

Sae blushed slightly, despite her usual detached manner. "My father was never one for letting his daughters expose themselves to provoke the appetites of men. Besides, my stepmother has always taught me how a lady can be both appropriate and striking in her own right. She was the one who bought this green dress for me, as well as many others I've brought along for my stay here."

"Smart woman." Mayah said softly. "She raised you well. Now, shall I call on the guards to escort you to the dining hall?"

As the door servants pulled the magnificent golden dining hall doors back for her, Sae was quick to take in everything prominent about the new grand room she was entering, before she got too close to the Queen herself. She knew it was better to pretend she wasn't amazed at everything she saw, lest she seem like a simple commoner to the royalty, as gawking at their glorious dining hall would surely create that impression. Taking in the brilliant shades of colour the room exuded and all the warm tones of the refined furniture, Sae forced her eyes away from the surroundings and focused them on the dining table centered in the room, looking like it was a good twenty feet long. It seemed however that Sae had wasted her worries a moment before, for the Queen herself had not yet entered the hall.

"Please milady, take a seat next to the head of the table, her ladyship will be here momentarily." One of the servants, who had been standing off to the side, had come forward and pulled back the chair she was intended to sit on.

Sae sat herself down and he pushed her gently in, returning to his post by the wall. She wondered if perhaps each main room in the palace had it's own special servants. She also wondered what they did to entertain themselves when no one was in that room. Back at home they only had two menservants, three maids and a cook. Sae couldn't help but smiling, thinking how they would fuss if they worked here instead, having to stand in a room all day waiting for people to enter for them to serve.

The smile disappeared from her lips. This, Sae reminded herself with that persistent little voice she had in her head, was the reason why she was grateful for her lot in life, and this opportunity which her father had got for her was more than she could have hoped for. Forget Mealina's fanciful notions of true love, Sae was lucky enough being born with this chance.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your thoughts my dear girl."

Sae looked up and her scrunched face became relaxed and blank as she took in the woman who has just entered the room. Dressed in a voluminous peach dress with white skirts peeking out underneath, the thin elderly lady with three escorts accepted the hand of one of them as they helped her sit down, her other hand carried an open pearl-shade fan which she covered her lower face with.

Once seated, she closed the fan with a quick snap and placed it on the table next to her. "Thank you, you may all go now. I'll ring when I'm ready.'

The three escorts left and the entrance servants closed the golden doors, isolating Sae and the Queen from the rest of the palace.

Up close, for Sae was now seated to the left of the Queen, she was happy to see the monarch had raven hair like herself, though as the Queen was getting on in years it was greying at the roots. Queen Ryona gave Sae a kind half-smile and Sae noted her green eyes were looking dull, as the rest of her face looked tired. Even dressed up in dazzling royal clothes, Sae could still see this Queen was worn out. Perhaps it was all this finding her son a consort business, Sae thought.

"So, you are Lady Sae I take it."

"Yes your majesty, I am she." Sae answered as the servants brought in plates of food before them.

"That is a peculiar name though. Is it short for something or were your mother and father fond of originality?"

"It is…short for another name, but I confess I do not like to disclose that name, and I assure you your majesty _Sae_ is a lot easier to say and remember than my real, painfully original name."

The Queen grinned. "Very well, I see you choose to keep your secrets. You will find, Lady Sae, that in this palace, everyone is fond of keeping a secret or two, so you will not feel out of place, I'm sure."

Sae wasn't quite sure what the Queen was trying to tell her by this, and yet, she doubted if she inquired further she would be told anything more, and so the subject was dropped and a new on introduced.

The food, Sae found, was both similar and different to what she ate at home. Similar in the sense that there were similar dishes served, essential vegetables and fruits, soups and meats prepared after the usual fashion in Fu Naru, only there was a lot more food at the palace, more variety and courses to choose from. Sae was having a hard enough time picking between the dishes in front of her and the dishes being presented to her by incoming servants carrying trays, and she wondered why everyone in the palace was not fat with all this food being brought out at each sitting. Once she was thoroughly fed and feeling more full then she'd ever been before, especially after the desert was brought out, the Queen called in her escorts and requested that Sae follow her into the East drawing room, where she would be introduced to the two princes.

To say the least Sae was most nervous at this point, and having a full stomach which suddenly decides to fill up with butterflies was not the most comfortable of feelings. She scolded herself as they made their way down the palace's halls, ones Sae doubted she'd ever memorize, even if she were to end up living here. How could she, realistic girl she prided herself as being, become anxious at this point? This was no time to be getting jittery; this was her chance to size up the man she could one day be married to. There was no need to feel uneasy when this was a matter entirely up to chance, and the last thing she intended on doing was getting any sort of feelings involved in the matter.

They at last came to the cream coloured east drawing room, which seemed to match the servants' shell-palette attire, Sae thought with a small smile. Two young men were already sitting by the card table in the middle of what looked like a game of old maid. The younger one had just picked one of the two last cards from his partner's deck and let out a fervent "no!" while the other laughed and with a big smile stated, "'fraid you lose. Seems my skills of trickery have improved."

"Best five out of seven then." The younger one implored, pulling at the collar of his shirt as if it were too tight.

"Ahem, boys." Queen Ryona cleared her throat.

Their attention was drawn to the lady standing by the entrance, but soon both sets of eyes had rested on Sae. With that continuing big smile, the clearly elder prince who had won the game stood up and made his way to the Queen and Sae, taking both their hands and kissing them.

"A pleasure it is to see you mother. And you, Lady Sae, I believe your name is."

"Yes, thank you Prince Sevastian." Sae found herself returning his infectious smile.

"And this is my younger son, Prince Fabian."

The younger prince followed Sevastian's lead and welcomed both ladies, though Sae noted he was much more awkward in his movements, and he began fiddling with his collar again. He gave her the immediate impression of a caged bird wanting to break out of its surroundings, or in Fabian's case, his uncomfortable royal attire. Fabian she also noted had hazel eyes, the famous hazel eyes of Fu Naru's royals, as well as black hair, which she guessed he inherited from his mother. Sevastian was sporting golden-red locks and warm emerald eyes, brighter then his mother's dull green ones. Both princes were tall and she guessed Fabian to be around her age, and Sevastian perhaps four or five years older.

So far, he seemed normal enough, handsome and everything the gentlemen, graceful in his behaviour compared to his younger brother, though perhaps a little too happy. She noted that within ten minutes after meeting him, as everyone was seated and conversing. Sevastian it seemed, had almost a permanent smile on his face, as if he had something always to smile about, as if he were only too eager to laugh should something funny happen. Though his smile was kind and soft, it did perturb Sae slightly, being a young lady who was not big on emotions herself and did not smile unless she had reason to. Perhaps they would complement each other, she found herself thinking as the Queen asked her younger son about where he had ridden that day. Their time together that evening in the drawing room however was not destined to be long.

"Alas, it is getting late Lady Sae," Queen Ryona said after twenty-odd minutes. "I did mean for you to meet with one more person before you retire to bed tonight, and therefore I think it best we end our gathering here for tonight and commence with this tomorrow evening."

"Yes your majesty." Sae said, getting up at once and wondering who else she had to meet tonight. Perhaps it was the King, she thought, though rumour had it he was bed ridden and too ill to see anyone.

Just then the head servant Gallagher appeared at the door, looking as nervy as ever, as if he were a kettle about to go off, Sae noted.

"Your majesties, Lady Sae," He bowed to them all, "I'm here to show Lady Sae to the Royal Advisor, he is waiting in his study now."

"Perfect timing Gallagher." The Queen said, turning to Sae. "Well, here is your escort to the final person you shall need to meet tonight. I dare say he'll be very important to you during your stay here, he is the man to go to for anything."

"Thank you your highness." Sae bowed to all three of them, bidding them goodnight, and as she turned to leave Prince Sevastian said, "Be sure to tell him hi from his best mate, he hasn't come out of that study of his in a while."

"I…ugh, will." Sae said surprised, as she followed Gallagher out of the drawing room.

"I do not have all the time in the world to be your escort milady," Gallagher began to say he lead her up to another level of the palace. "So be sure to memorize the way to Roderick's study now, he is usually in there, when he's not out taking care of things in the palace."

"Roderick is…the Royal Advisor, I take it then?" Sae asked.

"He is. He's a busy man, not as busy as me of course, being head servant and all, but as the Royal Advisor he has a lot on his hands as well. That didn't stop the Queen from appointing him in charge of helping the potential consorts to his highness Prince Sevastian any way he can though, so if you need to know anything, he's the one to go to."

"But I thought that's what my ladies-in-waiting and Mayah were for."

Gallagher turned down the left hall and said, "They are for taking care of you, for making sure you are well fed, well clothed, sleeping well and are generally comfortable here at the palace. His Royal Advisor Roderick is in charge of explaining what you must do while you are here, and helping you out with your tasks any way he can. As I had before, if you have a question about anything, he is your man. Now…here we are."

He stopped in front of a pair of dark-stained oak doors and gave a graceless knock.

"Come in," a deep masculine voice said from within.

Gallagher drew the doors open and beckoned for Sae to go in. As soon as she stepped in the head servant closed the doors behind her.

When Sae looked before her the first thing she met with were piercing sea-blue eyes. Taking in the rest of the man who stared back at her from his desk she noted dark brown hair, a young looking face and a very serious expression. The young man stood up from his desk and beckoned for her to sit down. As Sae took a seat across from his study desk she wondered why everyone who worked at the palace seemed too young to be in the high positions they were. She thought Gallagher looked young to be the head servant, but this guy who looked the same age as Prince Sevastian was already the Royal Advisor. How was that even possible? Didn't the King need old, wise men advising him?

Sitting back down, the young man said, "lady Sae, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Roderick, advisor to the crown prince and in charge of instructing you with all you need to know for the next couple of months."

"Pardon me, but did you say advisor to the crowned prince? But, aren't you the Royal Advisor around here?"

Roderick looked at her for a moment as if reading her expression before answering. "There are two Royal Advisors for the current King at this moment, I am but the advisor for the current crowned prince Sevastian. However, seeing as the current King will not be with us for long judging by his health, Sevastian has already named me the new Royal Advisor for when he comes into power and the other two shall work under me."

"That seems a little unfair for those older men. They're being demoted."

"That's palace life." He said, Sae thought perhaps a little harshly. "Now, if you are satisfied with knowing my exact position in the palace at present, I'd like to move on to why we are here."

So cold, Sae thought, both his sea-blue eyes and his personality. "Yes, please go on."

"You are, up to date, the seventh lady I've had to have this conversation with. Whether or not you are the last is up to…up to your ability, and up to chance, I suppose."

"That I am aware of." Sae answered.

"Good, then you understand this will be no easy time for you. The Queen, in deciding a consort for her son, has laid out six tasks that must be completed in order for you to claim that position."

Finally, Sae thought, as sombre as he is, here is finally someone who talks sense. All this madness about love really amounts to nothing. _In the end this is me, testing my abilities to claim a position, and nothing more_.

"You will have a ten day period between performing each of the six tasks, making the duration your stay here, should you successfully complete them all, roughly two months. Then you will be sent back home and settlements between your father and the Queen will take place and a wedding date will be set. Now as for your tasks, you will be informed about them five days before you are to carry each on them out. You will also be allowed someone in the palace to help you prepare for it and if need be assist you in it, though there is a limit to how much they can assist you. Should you fail any of your tasks you will be sent home on that same day."

"How merciless."

"That," he repeated, "is palace life."

"Perhaps," Sae answered, "but who decided it had to be?"

"The Queen did." He answered.

"I'm not talking simply about the task rules. I mean to say, you seem to equate all the rigid consequences happening here as "palace life" in general, such as those advisors being demoted. I was merely asking you, who decided palace life should be like that?"

Roderick blinked at her as if seeing her for the first time, but he recovered within a second. "Live in these walls for long enough Lady Sae, and you'll find some things aren't as easy to change as your words would suggest."

Sae shrugged. "I suppose you are right. This is my first time in a palace after all. So, is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"There is one more thing," he said. "As appointed by her majesty, if you need advice on anything during your stay then I am of course here to help. In the evenings I'm always in my study, though during the day you may find me anywhere in the palace tending to whatever work needs to be done."

"Thank you…Roderick, that is duly noted. I may all you Roderick, right? Or would you prefer His _Royal Crown Prince's Advisor_?"

Roderick shook his head modestly. "Roderick is fine Lady Sae."

"Call me Sae. Her majesty calls me _Lady_ enough as it is and I am feeling awfully old after being addressed as such so much today." She laughed, making a joke.

"I suppose then, you do not get out into society often, if you are not used to be called _Lady_." He casually remarked, catching Sae off guard and still her laughter.

"Actually I'm mostly at home with my younger siblings."

"Is that so? Well, if you have no questions _Lady Sae_, then I have nothing further to say and you may adjourn for bed."

She paused, momentarily annoyed at his decision to ignore her request and call her Lady anyway, but then pressed on with the question that had been on her mind since her resolution to come to the palace. "Actually, I do have one question."

"And that is…?"

"Of the six ladies who were contenders before me, how far were they able to complete the tasks?"

"I believe it was the fourth young lady, Princess Drelinda of Luthfort, who completed the first four tasks but failed the fifth. All the others have done less."

"Then task five must have been hard, what was it called again?"

Roderick, for the first time since she'd met him, half-smiled, and though it wasn't so much of a grin as it was the corner of his mouth turning slightly upwards, she still thought it was an improvement, making his face quite handsome. "I did not say what it was called and I have no intention of telling you before you are meant to know."

"Well, that is a pity then, though you can't fault me for trying."

Roderick was about to say something else when someone knocked gently at the door, making Sae jump slightly in her seat.

"Come in." Roderick said.

Mayah entered, looking as plump and kind as ever. Sae noticed how Roderick's cold serious expression considerably softened and wondered if Mayah emitted that maternal aura wherever she went, so much so that she could even make a detached advisor look like he had just seen his mother. Mayah had, after all, been a maid in this palace for decades, so Sae supposed by now everyone had warmed up to the kind old lady.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you Roderick but I just came to see if Sae was done. I noticed Gallagher took off to take care of something else, so I supposed she'd need help in finding her rooms from here."

"Yes, we're done, thank you." Standing up from his seat, he gave Sae a small head bow, and as she got up said, "I'll see you tomorrow Lady Sae."

"Thank you Roderick. Oh and Prince Sevastian told me to tell you he says hi."

Roderick shook his head and it looked to Sae as if he were restraining from rolling his eyes.

"Well goodbye then." She said, leaving the room with Mayah.

"So," Mayah asked as they walked down the corridors, "how do you like it here so far?"

"To be honest, I'm finding it all a little bit strange, but there's nothing I can't handle, and I think I'll fit in quite comfortably once I get used to it all."

"Good," Mayah smiled, "that was the answer I was hoping for."

-

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_A__uthor's Notation_: Earlier than planned, I post up chapter one, thanks to the lovely review I got.

Just a side note here. In tems of time periods, I would say it's roughly late 1700's, post Baroque period, but experts in that time frame would flame my story (especially as I've included knights in this), so I will instead say, no set date, as Fu Naru is certainly a made up country.

So, this chapter is much longer than the previous, and most chapters will be a similiar length to this. When I started this story I thought it wouldnt be more than 10,000 words, as of now its over 70,000 and still growing monstrous.


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